In transistors having a field electrode below a gate electrode and adjacent to a drift zone the field electrode has different functions: it reduces the a gate-drain capacitance of the component; it shields the gate electrode against high electric field strengths, if the component is in its blocking state; and it compensates charge carriers in the drift zone, if the component is in its blocking state, thereby increasing a maximum blocking voltage of the component.
The field electrode and the gate electrode are insulated from one another by a dielectric layer, with the gate electrode, the field electrode and this dielectric layer forming a capacitor. For a given dielectric constant of the dielectric layer between the gate and the field electrode a capacitance of this capacitor decreases with increasing thickness of the dielectric layer.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.